Monday, 1 October 2012

Giant lemons, inclinators and monkeys.

Our 3 days to Launceston were jammed packed with activities, and most of them at the Resort.  The boys were very excited by a few in particular, like the heated pool, the Putt Putt, the giant jumping pillow, the paddle boats, the pirate ship, the playground, the games arcade, the Lolly Shop..  ok so actually they were excited by pretty much every activity the resort offered.

We had a few other activities we wanted to squeeze in also though, so we had to balance our time between resort activities and sightseeing. The boys had never been to Cataract Gorge before, and the last time I was there was in 2004, so I was really looking forward to it.  We were also meeting a few other families at the Gorge, so there would be lots of children for the boys to play with (ended up 29 in total, and that was just the kids!)

Unfortunately the lure of the heated pool, jumping pillow and Putt Putt was putting a damper on the start of our day with moans and groans about the day's planned activity.  So in an attempt to get them excited:

Me: "There is something reaaalllly interesting at the Gorge".  I was referring to the chairlift, but upon seeing the chairlift I quickly realised there was just no way we could do that.  Firstly, it only has 2 seats, secondly and most importantly there is seriously nothing but a seat and a couple of (hopefully) well placed bars to keep you safe. 

Legoman:"A giant lemon?!"  He said in all seriousness.  Legoman loves to eat lemons, he has at least one a day and often has them in his lunchbox. It was then that I just gave up, apparently nothing but a giant lemon (or a heated pool) was going to impress him today.  Instead I fell back on the old faithful, "We're doing this because I say so, and you are going to enjoy it!".


They did have fun.  What's not to like about an 'inclinator' and a swinging bridge.  And don't let the name fool you, the inclinator is no thrill ride with a top speed of around 1km an hour.  The inclinator is the alternative to about one hundred steps down, so a natural draw card for children. 
 See what I mean about the chairlift?  Let me know if you see a giant lemon.

 As promised we hit the pool immediately upon returning back to the resort, and because it was pouring rain at that stage they missed out on Putt Putt and the giant pillow.  That was fine, as it turned out, they had completely exhausted themselves in the pool anyway and were actually asking to go to bed early that night.

On our last day we had several things to squeeze in before driving home again. Affectionately named "rainbow" by Oshawott and "sponge" by Voltorb, the giant pillow was the first on the list at 8.30am.  This was immediately followed by screaming at the ducks (Pichu didn't want to feed ducks), Putt Putt, and a trip to the shops.

Voltorb finally got his plush Tasmanian Devil that makes noise, he had been asking for that noisy thing since our trip to Mt Field where he had chosen a parrot instead (he wanted both of course).  We found a name train for Pichu, and the other 2 boys wanted to wait until the Muesum to buy something.  I just wanted some chocolate from the Chocolate cafe, but Pichu ate it.  Sigh.

Pichu slept through the entire Museum experience, which actually made it alot easier for me.  Until it came to the point where he woke up just before getting to the car and was not impressed to be getting straight back in it (or so it seemed to him).

The City Park cheered him up, even more so when he got to see Monkeys!  Monkeys?  Yes, Launceston has a big enclosure of Monkeys smack bang in the middle of it's City Park.  Apparently they had been removed for a long time during some darker times for the Monkeys, when they all had Herpes!

The drive home was mostly uneventful except for a general mood that had enveloped the car, a grumpy, short-tempered, tired mood.

I was nervous about getting out the D7000 poolside so opted for the phone instead. Pichu is captured in mid fall, but quickly snaffled up just nano seconds later, and I didn't even drop the phone!

And look at this cheeky little boy, I'm sure his Mummy and Daddy were around somewhere.   Doesn't belong to me.. nope!

Legoman getting a grasp on the physics of water.


Mum.  Monkeys! (Oshawott)

Indeed.  And a few moments after I put the camera away the darn monkey's had a full on brawl didn't they!

I have some pretty cool action photo's of the boys on the giant rainbow sponge, so they require a 'special edition' photo post all to themselves tomorrow. 

If you have enjoyed reading, please head over and like my Facebook page.  And follow along at TwitterThat would just be awesome as have been feeling a little unloved lately.. you will see why when you see how few likers I have!


  1. Looks like a great day, they were some beautiful photos.

    Fairy wishes and butterfly kisses #TeamIBOT

  2. Great photos, sounds like you had a wonderful break :)

  3. Looks like the family had a great time!

    1. Was really fun, can't wait to go back. (with Daddy this time!)

  4. What a great little break! I love that they broke into a full on brawl once the camera was put away! Sounds like something my children would do.

    1. Luckily it was just the monkey's brawling (this time!).

  5. I've always wanted to g t Tasmania and this makes me want to go even more. I'm thinking that we should wait till Mia is slightly older ough so she can really enjoy everything.

  6. Oh I a more than slightly jealous of your holiday. The scenery looks awesome!
    Also, how cute are your kids?

    1. I can't wait to go back, and we have a student free day at the end of October..

  7. Love, love, loved Tassie. There was no inclinator last time I was there! We braved the chairlifts, and I don't think the monkeys were in the park when we were there. We were fascinated by the peacocks, and the scenery. Just a bit jealous too, we will make it back one day :)

    1. The peacocks, how could I forget! My 6 yr old captured an aweseome photo of a peacock on his 3ds, must get that onto the PC.

  8. Sounds like my girls would have loved that resort. Heated pools and jumping pillows - what more could a kid want? I too would have to bribe them to leave but a giant lemon just wouldn't cut it for my princesses. However they would go just about anywhere for a giant marshmallow.

  9. Stop making me jealous! We really, really ,really want to move to Tassie and your photos are not helping to ease the pain.
    Looks like you had a blast. Your 'like'ers will come! I love reading your posts!
    Prue x

  10. gorgeous photos, looks like an incredible place to spend some family time together xxx

  11. What a great family holiday! Inclinators are always the way to go with children. That's for sure!

  12. What a wonderful break and don't you have gorgeous kids!


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